Chapter
2 :: Evolution
of Ecovillages in the Context of the Environmental
Movement

The ecovillage movement
began in Sweden in the 1970s, at about the
same time the environmental movement was taking
root in the United States and Europe. Concern
about pollution, nuclear war, and the loss
of natural resources were among the reasons
residents were interested in living in an
ecovillage. While ecovillage projects were
first facilitated by changes in government
and business, over time they began to influence
changes within Swedish businesses and government.

Initially,
the projects were considered radical. But,
by the early 1990s, government agencies and
large building companies began to incorporate
some of the new ideas into their own operations.
This change was in keeping with the overall
shift in Sweden from thinking of ecological
considerations as radical to incorporating
environmental standards into national, local,
and commercial policy. The ecovillage movements,
as we shall see, had a lot to do with this
shift.